Coconut
water on the way to Tarakeshwar. When approaching a coconutwallah (I guess that's
a word) in Kolkata, Ram had me coolly stroll on past, then rejoin him after
the transaction was finished. Here, there was no hiding the Westerner in the
group, so we probably paid double, perhaps two cents more.

Speeding
is not an issue in Tarakeshwar (or anywhere else). A moment after this, we were
facing two motorcycles and a cow to the right of the van.

Road
to Tarakeshwar. Southwest of Kolkata is potato land. The buildings are storage
sheds. Ram tried to buy a bag cheap to donate to an ashram, but no one was selling
retail.

An
SRF monk (Bro. Anandamoy) told of the spirituality of rural Indians--outside
the Westernized big cities. A servant girl had handed him her only possession--a
calendar with a religious picture--with a sweet smile, after seeing him admire
it. "There was a sweetness, a humility, a purity... I could not believe
it. Could not believe it. These people may not be consciously seeking God, but
as soon as they do, they will find that most of the work is done."

I
asked Ram about this. "Oh yes, I have seen this," he said. "In
Western Bengal. Then cable television comes and it's gone."

The
stone at Tarakeshwar. The line of people are waiting to get to the stone, which
is a site of miraculous healings, like Lourdes. We saw people sitting outside
and fasting for a cure. The stone is in a chamber to the right of the line.
Inside, priests continuously perform rituals. There is a second enclosure about
three feet outside the inner temple. The guy at the gate was bossy and officious
about who was getting in, and it became clear that the Westerner wasn't getting
into the inner compound. I got holy water splashed on my forehead by a priest,
none the less.

I
didn't care about not getting three feet closer. The stone, visible from outside,
was emitting a palpable force. Being within a few yards of it was like standing
in a strong wind. My forehead was tingling. I'd read about stones of power in
fiction; this is the real thing.

The
origin of the two-foot spherical stone is lost in the mists of time. Some say
it might be a meteorite.